'Bows still winless in home matches

By Leila Wai
Advertiser Staff Writer

The University of Hawai'i women's soccer team continued to go winless at home, falling to Duke, 2-0, in the Outrigger Hotels & Resorts Soccer Classic last night at the Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium.

The Blue Devils (3-2), No. 30 in the Soccer Buzz poll and No. 24 for SoccerTimes.com, shut out the Rainbow Wahine (3-2-1) for the first time in four games, in front of 1,495 spectators. Both of their losses where shutouts at home.

"I don't know what it is," junior forward Natasha Kai, the two-time Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, said. "We do great on the road, and we're supposed to do even better at home. We're not connecting right now."

Hawai'i had just completed a successful road trip where it picked up its only wins of the season, going 3-0, including two wins in overtime.

"It's frustrating," senior captain Joelle Sugai said. "On the road, we had more intensity."

Hawai'i concludes the tournament against Long Beach State Monday at 5 p.m. Duke and Long Beach State play tonight at 7 p.m.

Duke opened the scoring in the 42nd minute when sophomore midfielder Darby Kroyer blasted a 25-yard shot from the right side of the field that goalkeeper Mahie Atay couldn't hold on to. Junior forward Carolyn Riggs followed with a low shot on the rebound, which Atay blocked to the right, but junior midfielder Shelly Marshall was waiting to finish the play with an open shot on goal.

"The game was even at that point," Hawai'i coach Pinsoom Tenzing said. "The team that scored first would have won. It took a lot out of our kids."

Duke coach Robbie Church called the timing of the goal "critical."

"Any time you score a goal late in the half, you get a lift," he said. "The timing of the goal was so big. It hurts a team to get scored on, but it helped our team."

Kroyer set up the Blue Devils with another chance to score in the 51st minute when her free kick bounced off the crossbar, and new goalkeeper Erin Chow couldn't get her hands on the ball. Senior defender Liz Lusk headed the ball out of danger to keep the Rainbow Wahine within one goal.

But the Rainbow Wahine defense couldn't stop the Blue Devils in the 77th minute, when senior defender Kate Seibert made a 30-yard run down the middle of the field, and passed the ball between two defenders, setting up sophomore forward Sarah McCabe on the left side, 10 yards from the goal. McCabe's run forced Chow to cover the near post and she shot the ball into the far side of the net.

Duke pressured Hawai'i several more times in the second half, with four shots on goal, and the Blue Devils defense prevented a second-half Hawai'i shot on goal to seal their win.

"I can't explain what is wrong," Kai said. "Everything is there. It's so frustrating, because the talent is there."

Tenzing said the only difference from last night's game and the road trip was the inability by Hawai'i to send long balls in the space behind the defense.

"We were able to put the ball in that space and Tasha ran on to them," he said of the road trip. "We weren't able to do that today."

Duke's starting freshman goalkeeper Allison Lipsher is a Punahou graduate and the 2004 Advertiser State Player of the Year. It was her second win, both shutouts, of the season. She had one save on Hawai'i's only shot on goal.

"It was fun, it kind of felt like (the state championship) after the game," she said.

Hawai'i starting goalkeeper Atay left the game at halftime because of a concussion she received earlier in the first half during a collision.

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2457.